The effect of intravenous hypertonic saline infusion on renal function and vasopressin excretion in sheep.

Conscious Merino ewes were given an intravenous hypertonic sodium chloride load of 4 mmol.min-1 for 100 min. This resulted in increases in urine flow, sodium and potassium excretion and plasma sodium concentration and osmolality. Urinary vasopressin output and solute-free water reabsorption increased and plasma renin activity declined. Renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) rose, as did the solute clearance. The change in urinary osmolality was related to the initial urine osmolality such that when the initial urine osmolality was high the urine became more dilute, and vice versa. Tubular sodium reabsorption increased but the fractional reabsorption rate fell. It is suggested that the increase in GFR was at least partly due to the increase in AVP and that the electrolyte loss can be accounted for by the increase in GFR without necessarily involving AVP or other hormonal effects at the tubular level.     

The effect of vasopressin on fetal oxygenation in sheep

To examine the effects of vasopressin on fetal oxygenation the hormone was infused intravenously for 1 h (1.4-3.5 mU X min-1 X kg fetal weight-1) to chronically catheterized fetal lambs in utero (113-137 days gestation). Arterial pressure rose (48.3 to 59.6 mmHg) (1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa) and heart rate fell (185.3 to 141.0 beats/min) during the infusion. There was a significant increase in fetal arterial PO2 (20.0 to 23.1 mmHg) and significant declines in pH (7.414 to 7.381) and base excess. Umbilical blood flow rose, and the percentage increase in flow (23%) was identical to the proportional rise in arterial pressure. Accompanying the rise in umbilical blood flow was a rise in umbilical oxygen delivery. But as there was no change in fetal oxygen consumption, fractional oxygen extraction by the fetus fell significantly (0.31 to 0.25). These data indicate that the vasopressin-induced rise in fetal vascular PO2 results from an increase in umbilical oxygen delivery and concomitant fall in fractional extraction. Fetal vasopressin levels are greatly elevated during hypoxia, and under conditions of reduced oxygen supply, the effects of the hormone on umbilical oxygen delivery and vascular PO2 could have definite survival value.     

The influence of parathyroidectomy upon calcium and phosphate homeostasis in adult sheep.

The absorption and secretion of Ca and PO4 were measured with the use of radioactive isotopes in 4 adult sheep before and after parathyroidectomy. Secretion of Ca and PO4 into the stomach and intestines was measured separately. Parathyroidectomy resulted in a negative balance for Ca and PO4 and an accompanying fall in plasma Ca and PO4 concentrations. In the case of PO4 this response was attributed primarily to a reduced intestinal absorption, but for Ca increases in urinary excretion and intestinal secretion also contributed significantly. Secretion of PO4 to the stomach was reduced but endogenous PO4 excretion in the faeces was unchanged which indicated a reduced reabsorption of secreted PO4 by the intestines.     

The effect of A23187 upon calcium metabolism in the human lymphocyte.

Treatment of human peripheral lymphocytes with mitogenic concentrations of the divalent cation ionophore A23187 led to an initial marked increase in the uptake of calcium by these cells, but the amount of accumulated calcium retained decreased with time so that after 8-12 h of culture, the calcium content of treated cells was only 1.5-2.0-fold higher than that of control cells. Three possible explanations for the biphasic nature of ionophore-induced calcium uptake were considered: (1) the ionophore underwent chemical or metabolic inactivation upon prolonged incubation; (2) massive accumulation of calcium caused irreversible uncoupling of mitochondria in these cells with consequent loss of accumulated calcium; or (3) with time there was a redistribution of ionophore within the cell, and sufficient ionophore was taken up by internal, most likely mitochondrial, membranes to cause an efflux of calcium from internal stores. By developing a bioassay for ionophore and examining the time-dependent effects of ionophore in the presence and absence of calcium, it was concluded that the third explanation was the most likely. The general implications of these results are discussed.     

The effect of calcium ion transport ATPase upon the passive calcium ion permeability of phospholipid vesicles.

The uptake and release of Ca2+ by sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments and reconstituted ATPase vesicles was measured by a stopped-flow fluorescence method using chlortetracycline as Ca2+ indicator. Incorporation of the Ca2+ transport ATPase into phospholipid bilayers of widely different fatty acid composition increases their passive permeability to Ca2+ by several orders of magnitude. Therefore in addition to participating in active Ca2+ transport, the (Mg2+ + Ca2+)-activated ATPase also forms hydrophilic channels across the membrane. The relative insensitivity of the permeability effect of ATPase to changes in the fatty acid composition of the membrane is in accord with the suggestion that the Ca2+ channels arise by protein-protein interaction between four ATPase molecules. The reversible formation of these channels may have physiological significance in the rapid Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum during activation of muscle.     

The effect of calcium and Ca antagonists upon excitation-contraction coupling

The effect of a Ca2+-free tetraethylammonium sulfate solution on force development in short skeletal muscle fibres of the frog was investigated under voltage clamp control. Maximum force could still be reached under this condition. The removal of external Ca2+, however, caused an acceleration of force inactivation leading to a shift of the steady-state potential dependence of force inactivation to more negative potentials. With reference to the "modulated-receptor hypothesis" this result was explained by assuming a potential-dependent binding of Ca2+ to a force-controlling system in the T-tubular membrane, with a low affinity in the depolarized-inactivated state. A dissociation of Ca2+ is assumed to turn the system into a secondary inactivated state (paralysis) from which it only slowly recovers after repolarization. Ca antagonists like D600 and diltiazem accelerated the shift into paralysis, probably by an allosteric displacement of Ca2+ from its binding site. The application of 1-2 microM of the Ca antagonist nifedipine blocked the inward Ca2+ current and caused a prolongation of the transient force development following a depolarization. A similar retardation of force inactivation and a threshold shift to more negative potentials occurred when the Ca2+ chelator ethyleneglycol-bis (beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) was injected into the fibre and when in Ca2+-free solutions sodium ions entered the cell through Ca2+ channels.     

The effect of A23187 upon calcium metabolism in the human lymphocyte

Treatment of human peripheral lymphocytes with mitogenic concentrations of the divalent cation ionophore A23187 led to an initial marked increased in the uptake of calcium by these cells, but the amount of accumulated calcium retained decreased with time so that after 8–12 h of culture, the calcium content of treated cells was only 1.5–2.0-fold higher than that of control cells. Three possible explanations for the biphasic nature of ionophore-induced calcium uptake were considered: (1) the ionophore underwent chemical or metabolic inactivation upon prolonged incubation; (2) massive accumulation of calcium caused irreversible uncouplingof mitochondria in these cells with consequent loss of accumulated calcium; or (3) with time there was a redistribution of ionophore within the cell, and sufficient ionophore was taken up by internal, most likely mitochondrial, membranes to cause an efflux of calcium from internal stores. By developing a bioassay for ionophore and examining the time-dependent effects of ionophore in the presence and absence of calcium, it was concluded that the third explanation was the most likely. The general implications of these results are discused.     

The effect of calcium ion transport ATPase upon the passive calcium ion permeability of phospholipid vesicles

The uptake and release of Ca²⁺ by sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments and reconstituted ATPase vesicles was measured by a stopped-flow fluorescence method using chlortetracycline as Ca²⁺ indicator.Incorporation of the Ca²⁺ transport ATPase into phospholipid bilayers of widely different fatty acid composition increases their passive permeability to Ca²⁺ by several orders of magnitude. Therefore in addition to participating in active Ca²⁺ transport, the ($\text{Mg}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{+ Ca}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}$)-activated ATPase also forms hydrophilic channels across the membrane. The relative insensitivity of the permeability effect of ATPase to changes in the fatty acid composition of the membrane is in accord with the suggestion that the Ca²⁺ channels arise by protein-protein interaction between four ATPase molecules. The reversible formation of these channels may have physiological significance in the rapid Ca²⁺ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum during activation of muscle.     

Role of sodium and water excretion in the antihypertensive effect of vasopressin in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Mean arterial pressure (mmHg (1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa)), sodium excretion rate (mumol.kg-1.min-1), and urine flow (microL.kg-1.min-1) were measured in conscious unrestrained spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) before, during, and after a 3-h intravenous infusion of arginine vasopressin (20 ng.kg-1.min-1), an equipressor dose of phenylephrine, or an infusion of the vehicle. Cessation of the phenylephrine infusion was associated with a return of arterial pressure to preinfusion control values in both SHR and WKY. Cessation of the vasopressin infusion was also associated with a return of arterial pressure to preinfusion values in WKY. In contrast, in the SHR, arterial pressure fell from a preinfusion control level of 164 +/- 6.2 to 137 +/- 4 mmHg within 1 h of stopping the vasopressin infusion. Five hours after stopping the infusion, pressure was 134 +/- 3 mmHg (29 +/- 5 mmHg below preinfusion levels). Similar to the WKY, cessation of a vasopressin infusion was associated with a return of arterial pressure to preinfusion values in Sprague-Dawley rats. Thus, the failure to observe a hypotensive response in normotensive rats was not a peculiarity of the WKY strain. Sodium excretion rates increased during the infusions of vasopressin to a greater extent in SHR than in WKY. However, the natriuresis induced by phenylephrine was not significantly different from that generated by vasopressin in SHR, and in WKY, the natriuresis was greater for phenylephrine than for vasopressin. Urine output increased to a greater extent during the infusions of phenylephrine in both SHR and WKY than during vasopressin infusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)